Latest news with #grievingfamilies
BBC News
24-07-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Grieving families face death certificate delays 'for weeks'
Some grieving families in the south-west of England are having to wait several weeks to get a death certificate after a loved one has died. The delay has been blamed on a new system for registering deaths which means doctors can no longer issue certificates independently. The National Association of Funeral Directors said it could result in considerable delays of up to four weeks or more. The government said it understood that such circumstances was "incredibly difficult time for any family", and the certification process was being enhanced to "enhance patient safety and offer clarity to grieving families". The new process was introduced across England and Wales last September, partly in response the Harold Shipman murders. It now requires a medical examiner to review each cause of death certificate completed by a doctor, and contact relatives to see if they have any questions or concerns before it is signed managing director of funeral directors Walter C Parson, John Ware, told the BBC: "I would say four, five years ago we would be advising families it would take seven to 10 for a funeral to be arranged from the point of death. "We're probably looking at between three to four weeks on average, I would say. "It has big implications for the bereaved family. Obviously closure is important for them and the funeral is a big part of the grieving process. "Delaying that by any longer than it needs to be is becoming a big problem for families. "We had a case recently where it was just over six weeks since somebody passed away, and my colleagues have been chasing up the coroner's office and the medical examiner to try and get the relevant paperwork that we need for that funeral to take place." 'Open communication' While Devon is still experiencing delays, the situation has improved in Cornwall where deaths can be registered at any register office in the county. In Devon, deaths have to be registered at the office in the area they occurred; Plymouth, Torbay or Exeter, for example. The president of the Association of Funeral Directors in Cornwall, Ayesha Slader, said: "We're very lucky. We've got an open communication with the medical examiners. If we have any issues, we can call them and make sure we have things in place. "If you have somewhere where the population is quite high and you've got a higher death rate, actually having more than one registration office for that area would be helpful, and I think that would really work to ease the pressures of the delays we're seeing." In a statement, the Department of Health and Social Care said: "We understand that dealing with the death of a loved one is an incredibly difficult time for any family. That's why we've improved the death certification process to enhance patient safety and offer clarity to grieving families. "The government expects deaths to be registered quickly and efficiently, and we're working with the NHS, faith groups, and the funeral sector to drive improvements and reduce delays where they exist."John Ware said: "I think it's important to reassure people that they don't have to wait for the death certificate to be issued before they can start making funeral arrangements."We would really encourage people to make contact with their chosen funeral director as soon as possible after someone has passed away so that they can start planning."
Washington Post
14-06-2025
- Washington Post
A Border Patrol agent died in 2009. His widow is still fighting a backlogged US program for benefits
When her husband died after a grueling U.S. Border Patrol training program for new agents, Lisa Afolayan applied for the federal benefits promised to families of first responders whose lives are cut short in the line of duty. Sixteen years later, Afolayan and her two daughters haven't seen a penny, and program officials are defending their decisions to deny them compensation. She calls it a nightmare that too many grieving families experience.
Malay Mail
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Malay Mail
Safer express buses is a two-way street
JUNE 12 — The cheapest express bus seat ticket from Terengganu's Jerteh to Kuala Lumpur next week is RM55, according to an online booking system. There was an accident up north near the jungles in a road cutting through the range which divides our peninsula, after most of us were asleep to be fresh for a Monday workday after the Raya Haji weekend. Killed, 15 future teachers. The story continues to develop as grieving families bury their young. The who, what, when, why and how heats up inside an intense inquest. Let the afflicted, affected and charged to act, be with what they face. I want to talk about us. The rest of us. Those who've been up this week to see the news unfold and read even if we do not write those online comments. Last month, this column spoke for both the dead in the FRU truck and the colliding lorry driver in court. I upset an old acquaintance in a WhatsApp group, when I said he should cease his normative statements regarding the police transport vehicle disaster. He went on and on wanting us to drive like the Japanese, stop at pedestrian crossings, have a culture where lorry, bus and truck drivers take pride in their work and quipped that black boxes and other technological solutions are already here. Use them! He wants the right things to be done because they are the right things. A right-minded world will defend the righteous, doing apparently, the right things. I said it costs votes. People dislike inconveniences and hate price spikes regardless of eventual benefits. Societies inch rather than leap forward because social evolution hurts in the short run. Like medicine, they despise expensive corrections. Really? I pointed to a few things. There was an accident up north near the jungles in a road cutting through the range which divides our peninsula, after most of us were asleep to be fresh for a Monday workday after the Raya Haji weekend. Killed, 15 future teachers. The story continues to develop as grieving families bury their young. The who, what, when, why and how heats up inside an intense inquest. — Bernama pic Rear passengers belting up is law since 2009. How many of us ask our passengers in the back to buckle up? Ask your next Grab or Bolt driver the percentage of passengers who do so. My niece and nephew, they buckle up when seated behind me because they are used to it, living in France and Australia. They are not doing so because they are from elsewhere and have better civic consciousness, they are typical teenagers. My niece thinks social advocacy is a lame vocation with no commercial purpose. Also, that I am lame for being me. They buckle up because in Melbourne they'll get a RM1,000 (A$370) fine. It's not merely a press statement. Laws are enforced. Yet 16 years after our 'enforcement', scant regard is paid. Which speaks more about us. Not discouraged by the rear passenger buckle-up adoption, our government made child-car seats mandatory in 2020. I'm betting it is even less observed than buckled up rear passengers. One, cars come with the necessary seat belts at the back, and two getting young children to agree to be buckled in purpose-built, industry approved contraptions is a stupendous challenge. More evident are parents letting their three-year-olds sit in the front, and also at times on the driver's lap. And yes, long before a summary, the acquaintance asked me to stop being a pompous ass. You might share his views. Why associate private vehicle transgresses with the sins of goods and people transporters and their drivers? Because we do not live in a bubble. More importantly, we cannot choose to live in a bubble and expect the world to do the things we care little about and be sanctimonious when body counts rise. We are all in it, together. The unbearable lightness of travel A friend joked once, he's never rode in a passenger plane but he has been in an airbus. He had just got off an express bus. In January, I was one of five who got off an express bus at a rest-stop before reaching Kuala Lumpur because the driver was erratic, drove hard and shouted his long phone conversations while at the wheel. There are stories galore from a cubicle near you, about how express drivers express themselves a bit too much on the highways. Yet another safety pundit rolled out wisdom, that if airlines do not get oddballs to fly planes because lives are at stake, then express buses should have better drivers. Yes, yes, except the pay chasm is considerable and there are no career advancements for express bus drivers. Bus drivers live in city PPRs and airline pilots in Bangsar condos. People do not call home to tell family they are dating an express bus driver. When drivers wait between long distance slogs in parking lots or petrol stations puffing cigarettes and relying on the revitalisation wonders of sweetened coffees, and not a necessary rest in a motel, they know they are just bus drivers. The Ministry of Transport ordered 1,600 more buses over the next three years, expect driver shortage to shoot up, more so over the holidays. Buses keep us connected, disconnection is not an option For decades, express bus operators claim our ticket prices are too low to run an efficient operation. I mentioned RM55 from Jerteh to Kuala Lumpur. Imagine if it was RM110, twice the fare. The ministry of transport (MOT) is ordering speed delimiters, which express bus operators must fix and maintain. MOT must supervise and liaise with the companies. Those black boxes and other requirements add to things. Driving slower and cautiously means longer rides and fewer trips per day. Asking for more tests, calibration and requirements lead to fewer days on the road. MOT limits express buses to 10-year life-spans unless they procure a special permit. Longer rides with more rest and safety features require more bus drivers and back-up drivers who then require accommodations with overnight stays. Every line added, every good measure, every make it better and safer adds to operational costs. Who pays for these? Even now, the allowed 10 per cent hike during festive holidays, makes customers cringe. There are the off-peak seasons, where the companies must continue serving even with far fewer passengers. They balance the sub-optimum period losses with weekend and festive over-capacity. There is the counter argument, that the operators are bent on profits and they cut corners, literally. The truth is always somewhere in-between. Yet, unless the state delivers the service, profit margins matter as an incentive. As much as express bus companies are pinatas for the public after deaths, the cynical reality which annoys the crap out of the righteous remains, the express bus operations keep millions ticking on. The ticket price increases from a quarter of a century ago to today are miniscule compared to the compounded inflation figures over the period. The coalition in and out of power are forewarned, a fickle electorate will not tolerate price increases. This is where the debate actually awaits. Honest takers are most welcome to participate in the solution. There is the other track to take. Limit land travel to safe extremely regulated methods and see travel as a luxury. Drivers are well-compensated and arduously avoid tickets which bar them from a stable highly unionised profession. Be careful what you wish for. The ECRL has a station in Jerteh. Operations begin in 2027, though the ticket price to Kuala Lumpur remains unannounced. Let's see how express buses fare then, or is fare the operative word? * This is the personal opinion of the columnist.
Daily Mail
08-06-2025
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Inside the shocking Maddy Cusack inquest: How parents of tragic footballer were brutally targeted - 'I felt like I'd been hit by a train' - and why 'fragile' women's game must act
The hearing scheduled for a nondescript courtroom in Chesterfield this week seemed destined to be unremarkable and procedural: the fourth in a series setting the scope of an inquest into the death of Maddy Cusack, a Sheffield United footballer who took her own life, more than 18 months ago. But what unfolded was shocking and excruciating to behold for all those who expect the modern inquest system to guide grieving families subtly and compassionately through this most traumatic of processes.
CTV News
05-06-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
Quebec ombudsman issues 11 recommendations over long delays in death certificate processing
Quebec's ombudsman has issued 11 recommendations to address long delays in processing death certificates, citing hundreds of public complaints and serious impacts on grieving families. A copy of a death certificate in Quebec. (CTV News) The Quebec ombudsman (Protecteur du citoyen), has issued 11 recommendations in a newly released report on excessive wait times for death certificates in the province. According to the report, the citizens' watchdog received more than 700 complaints between May and August 2024 about 'unreasonable delays' in obtaining death certificates — a necessary step in settling an estate. The ombudsman noted that in May 2024, it took the Directeur de l'état civil (DEC), the body responsible for issuing documents related to official acts, 55.8 working days to register a death in the civil status register, prompting the special investigation. Some of the recommendations include developing an organizational plan for the death registration service based on an analysis of observed trends, and reinstating a quality assurance process that was abandoned in 2023. The watchdog also stated that the DEC needs to modernize its infrastructure and emphasized the importance of informing citizens by phone and online when registration wait times exceed the promised timeframe. 'During our investigation, we found that some of the measures taken by the DEC were helping to reduce delays. However, corrective action is still needed to ensure more satisfactory and lasting improvements,' said Quebec ombudsman Marc-André Dowd. He added that they hope the recommendations are implemented quickly for the sake of the public, as delays can prevent next of kin from accessing the deceased's assets, which financial institutions often freeze. 'When the DEC imposes delays on citizens that complicate the settlement of an estate, the administrative issues can cause anxiety for bereaved families. This is not just about access to a document; it's a difficult time in people's lives. They have to deal with complex procedures while coping with grief and distress,' Dowd continued. In its investigation, the ombudsman identified five causes for the long delays, including a rise in deaths, human resource issues, and third-party complications. The office of Employment Minister Kateri Champagne Jourdain, which oversees the DEC, said it has taken note of the report. 'Several of the recommendations have already been implemented by the DEC. In fact, since the fall, processing times have returned to the targets set,' the minister's press secretary, Bénédicte Trottier Lavoie, said. With files from The Canadian Press
